All posts by Evan Degenfelder

The third book in my current series is nearing completion. The working title is “7 Rook Lane”. This is exciting as it brings to a close the story arc of Madeline Abbott and Scott Cooper that began with Unkindness of Ravens.

I’ve enjoyed these characters a lot and I suspect they will show up from time to time in further books. They have both had a great deal of hardships, but they have managed to handle them well—at least most of the time!

I am toying with the idea of revisiting the original characters from Unkindness, the employees Madeline first introduced us to: Nadine and Jamal, Charles and Cally and possibly Jamie Bradley, their intern. I think they may meet with disaster while restoring an old home. I wonder how they’ll do?

In my personal life, my husband and I are concluding the restoration of our 1936 English Tudor/Cottage style home. Continue reading Third Book→

My husband and I recently watched an episode on HGTV of Home Renovations. As a devout old house fan, I have to say, I was, well, infuriated by the program.

The show had a (very) young and inexperienced first time home buyer looking for a Spanish style home in a Los Angeles neighborhood. She had the neighborhood picked out because she wanted to remain in proximity to her mother and twin sister. She found one she liked, a smallish 1930 stucco home Continue reading Vintage Homes and “Renovations” – Where Do You Stand?→

E.D. Degenfelder has just released a new Novelette, Eleanor & Clay…A Story of Love and Loss.

This novelette is a prequel to my novel, Unkindness of Ravens, published in January of this year. The story tells of the love that blossomed between Eleanor Phillips and Clayton Abbott beginning in 1971. It is a story of a deep and all-encompassing love between two people that became the start of a dynasty.

Eleanor Phillips and Clay Abbott were young people with driving passions. They shared ideas about work, business, the future and each other. By pooling meager resources, they created a dynamic partnership that lasted for decades. The partnership created a family, children, wealth, philanthropy and an enduring legacy. Because of circumstances, their dynasty survived long past the love. A great love that died because of bad choices and unendurable consequences.

The intriguing story is the next installment in the series for Madeline Abbott, whom you met in my previous book, Unkindness of Ravens. Madeline now finds herself -again- in a chain of events which she cannot control. She is threatened with the loss of her inherited home, Black Oaks, and almost simultaneously she receives the disturbing news that her ex-husband has been released from jail and is missing. While she tries to cope with these problems she suddenly becomes the prime suspect in a violent murder!
A cast of characters (each with their own agenda) keep Madeline involved in a complex and often dangerous game. She doesn’t know where to turn or what to do as she struggles to help solve a murder and protect her stake in Black Oaks.
Her friends, Detectives Cooper and Morales lend a hand, but due to something completely unforeseen, things just don’t go as planned. How will Madeline survive the deadly game and will her fragile relationship with Scott Cooper survive as well?

Like the main character in my last two novels, Madeline Abbott, I am an old house fanatic. I’ve loved old houses all my life. I am saddened to see so much of our architectural history being destroyed, either by being demolished or razed, or by being gutted in a misguided attempt by home buyers to have (what looks like) an old house, yet inside there is not one scrap of history left to admire. Why do they do it? This is a question that plagues all of us old house lovers. It literally makes no sense.

It is the end of the first week in May, and I’m a little disappointed.

My next book (at least in my mind) was to be published NLT (that is military/aerospace speak for ‘no later than’) 15 May, 2016. I’m sorry to say that deadline will not be met. Not for a lack of trying. The current expected publication date will be 31 May, 2016.
We are in the midst of a large restoration project in our home. Of course we have been restoring our 1935 English/Tudor Cottage home for just about all of the sixteen and a half years we’ve owned it. This is nothing new, not at all. But this is just a huge undertaking, time consuming and expensive: all our downstairs original wood floors are being refinished. The downstairs space is at least 1700 square feet. I’m sure I don’t need to say what a huge hit to the budget this is. So, we elected to do it in increments.

That sounds good, doesn’t it? Really smart, financially speaking. In truth it has played havoc with our day to day quality of life. None of this ‘tough it out for a week and just get it done’. No…Since the beginning of December—after the first segment was finished– our home has been in a constant state of unmitigated chaos. There is so much stuff stacked in the laundry room, you have to squeeze by to open/close the washer or dryer. We had to move out of our bedroom temporarily (into one of the BRs from the first segment) because our room was included in the second segment, just recently completed. Whew!

Of course we have a full bath upstairs as well as down, but while the second segment was being done everything—everything—was out of bounds, if you get my meaning. The last segment will include the living room and dining room. Two very large rooms which, thankfully will not impede use of the downstairs (or upstairs) bathroom! I keep reminding myself of how beautiful they are, which they are, and that
it’s all worth it.

All of which is to say, that I got a little behind in my work, frustrated and distracted. My latest book, Gate 6—Murder at Black Oaks is finally in its draft mode. What that means is that I’ve finished the story and it is now undergoing editing and final re-write! It is exciting to have this work completed, albeit a couple of weeks behind schedule.

“Gate 6” is another novel featuring my character Madeline Abbott, which takes place a year after the extraordinary events of my previous book, Unkindness Of Ravens. During the last year, Madeline has tried to move on after losing her mother in the horrific conspiracy and murder at Raven’s Nest. She seeks to renew her relationship with the virile and magnetic Detective Scott Cooper, but even that cannot go right. Nothing is as simple as it looks on its face. Scott encounters trouble of another kind and is forced to make hard choices—the question is: will he make the right one?
Unfortunately for Madeline, she once again gets caught up in a twisted series of events including a con man’s hoax, kidnapping, treasure hunting, a vicious attempted murder and a murder, where she herself is a prime suspect.

The new book is suspenseful, fun and even funny from time to time, of course that depends on the character’s point of view!

I subscribe to a great blog called ‘OldHouseDreams’. I would say for obvious reasons! This great blog is administered by ‘Kelly’ who has an eye and a heart for old houses. She scours real estate listings across America (and other countries) for old houses that are on the market. She doesn’t select according to her own personal style preferences. I respect that. Every style, every condition, every situation are represented. Very grand to very humble. The main criteria: that the house have redeeming architectural significance and not too much ‘remuddling’ or modernizing.

This is a blog after my own heart. I rarely (read: never) see the offerings without finding at least one old house that has captured my imagination. The interesting thing about the site is the fact that she has an enormous number of followers. What does that mean? It means that there are many, many people out there like my husband and me. Lovers of old homes–their beauty, artistry, their craftsmanship and historic significance.

Work progresses on my latest novel. It is still on schedule to be published between the first and the fifteenth of May. It’s exciting getting nearer completion and ideas are bubbling up for the further trouble that Madeline Abbott and friends will get into!

Creativity is a strangely complex thing. I believe that most people are creative in their own ways. Not everyone is a painter, not everyone is a writer and not everyone a musician or a glass blower. But life itself demands quite a bit of individual creativity on a daily basis. Cooking meals, creating a comfortable home, and certainly raising children. Continue reading Creativity→

Work progresses on my latest book. Tentatively titled Gate 6, Murder at Black Oaks, it is still on schedule and I believe it will be ready to publish by the end of next month (April). It’s very exciting to see it coming along. Lots of twists, turns, murder and mayhem!

I am currently reading The Train Now Departing, one of two novellas by Martha Grimes. Ms. Grimes is one of my favorite writers. I’ve read literally every book she’s written, many of them multiple times. The reason I can read them three or four times each is simply this: she writes a well-crafted story that is full of interesting, often funny and always compelling characters. She writes with sharp wit and an edge of humor that I love. Continue reading One of My Favorite Authors→

My husband and I have been watching a television program called “Property Brothers”. This program was originally produced for HGTV. That may tell you something right there. While we have found it interesting, even funny at times, I’ve also found it quite irritating and it can very quickly make my blood boil.

The premise of the show for those not familiar with it is this: A pair of twin brothers, one a realtor, one a construction guy, pick a couple that are looking for their ‘dream home’. They ask the couple what are their ‘must haves’, and the (realtor) twin proceeds to show them a home for sale that has every single thing on their list. Everything. You guessed it. The price tag is too high, usually by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Next scene you have the couple looking hang-dog and unhappy while the twin brothers convince them that all they need is to broaden their search into the realm of the ‘fixer-upper’. Continue reading Remodel or Restore→